Conscious

Life from the Center is a life of unhurried peace and power. It is simple. It is serene. It is amazing. It is triumphant. It is radiant. It takes no time, but it occupies all our time. And makes our life programs new and overcoming.

- Thomas Kelly

I'm not really on vacation, but life has felt much more like a vacation recently. We'll see how long it keeps up. It's not all a lack of work, because (for instance) I worked about 12 hours yesterday. But life just isn't so stressful or rushed like it was. I do what I need to, but I can "stop and smell the roses" along the way.

I'm reading a really great book right now called "Freedom of Simplicity" by Richard Foster. I am being challenged in the way I live, think, and understand simplicity. One of the parts of the book I read recently spoke of Frank Laubach's "Game with Minutes." In this "game" Frank would see how many minutes out of an hour he could be conscious of God's presence. Every day in his journal he'd put "Conscious 25%" or "Conscious 70%" etc. He would figure out what percentage of his day he was actually actively being conscious of God. It's an amazing and convicting challenge, one that even the mention of would send many of us downcast, due to the fact that we realize how seemingly unavoidably distracted we are to God throughout the majority of our day, and therefore life. I know for me, it's a blessing if I randomly remember to thank God for being good, while I drive mindlessly to my next appointment from time to time.

I want to challenge myself to this task. I want to take such a task seriously if I should attempt it. Coming into mental preparation, I realize to be conscious would mean to severely lessen or eliminate the mind-dulling substances of our modern age. It means an effort to turn the TV from sketch comedy, sitcoms, and pointless fictional dramas. Or better yet, to turn the TV off. It means putting a bridle on my mind, and training it to focus. It means dominating my laziness and turning it into purposed action, that feeds simplicity.

Is it pathetic that all of these seem like too much and make me want to scratch the idea?

Now I'm not saying I can never watch TV, even pointless TV. I'm not saying I can't zone out and think of nothing (since that's definitely a good thing from time to time). But what I am saying is this, we are more overboard than we realize in our distractions. Our minds are shutting down to the extent that we (me included) are oblivious to it. Just ask those who have trained their minds, they'll give you evidences of how far we've drifted into LaLa Land.

If God occupies all of heaven and earth, shouldn't he occupy my thoughts as well? Would I not benefit from a closer relationship with the Guy who has it all under His control? Would I not be a more effective minister to the Gospel if I allowed His Word to permeate all my actions, in a living and conscious manner?

As it is, there is division. There is time for what God wants, and time for what Steve wants. I know this is wrong, but I am very content with it... until I wake myself up. Until I reminisce the sweet taste of eternity, I am content in my blissful ignorance. Try the challenge. See how conscious of God you can be throughout the day. Be diligent in your attempts and see how things improve.

A Little Too Dangerous

So apparently the U.S. Military has destroyed many Bibles that an American soldier was desiring to distribute to the Afghani people.

The government does not want to be tied to the promotion of any particular religion, which I can understand. It's not their place. And the Bible is probably more dangerous than the U.S. Military is prepared for, so their fear is appropriate.

On the other hand, I guess those who are truly brave should reconsider joining the military, and instead go to Afghanistan without guns, to hand out Bibles. If people actually start doing this, you can expect certain death, but also, certain life.

Just imagine.

The Bible In A Beaker

I attended a lecture at Pitt yesterday, where Bob Enick (who wrote the book Evolving in Eden) spoke about the compatibility of science's claim of The Theory of Evolution and a creationism viewpoint.

It's a claim I've thought about since my very intelligent friend Seth showed certainty of evolution (despite that he's a strong Christian) and said it could be the most beautiful means of creating. Ever since I have not had a strong foundation on whether I believe in both or with the more traditional creationist version.

It's largely a question of intention within the Bible; especially in the Genesis 1 accounts. Is the purpose to give a factual representation of the happenings and their order, or merely to show truths about how things are and that they ultimately were formed by God?

Enick explained how most evidence shows that the Earth is right around 4.5 million years old and there are signs the univers is somewhere around 16 billion years old. I have very little issue with this, believing the seven days to be most likely figuretive, rather than literal. However, when Enick began to talk about the evolution of man, I felt like something was wrong. His interpretation is that the creation of "Man in God's image" means the point of receiving a spiritual side. Before which humankind was merely another animal brought forth from evolution. I must confront myself in asking do I disagree with this just because I don't like it, or because it matters.

A few months ago I had a conversation with a parent of some of my campus life kids, who said he sees God's "breathing into the dust" as a very straightforward indication of evolution from primal elements. To believe in the evolution of man, and God graciously bestowing a spirit on him may not be too different, but at the same time I do feel like it reduces the specialness of man in relation to God's heart.

Overall it was a decent lecture. I learned a bit, but had heard a lot of the material before. I may skim through the free copy of Evolving in Eden that I received.

Then, this morning while browsing through Facebook, I saw a comment my buddy Jonathan had about a little kid with super-strength that was mentioned on the Early Show. It sounded interesting so I looked up some info on it.

Once I heard this story I immediately thought of Samson from the Bible. His agility and strength seem to resemble what could possibly come of this disorder. Was that the case? God placed a genetic disorder on Samson so he could be super-strong. It then raises the question of why would Samson's strength leave him when his hair is cut?

Interestingly enough, Samson seems a little slow, in the fact that he doesn't realize this chick, Delilah, has already tried to subdue him several times based on what he tells her his weakness is. Scientists have concerns about mental development in people with this disorder, due to the lack of fat from a high metabolism, which the brain needs for development. So maybe Samson wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed for that reason.

Even if Samson had this defect, would it give him the strength to collapse an entire temple with a push of his arms? Maybe, we don't know much aboutt his temple, but it must have been big. So is this a genetic thing or a supernatural thing? Is it a mix of both? My guess is a mix.

I have no problem with science, and I certainly have no problem with God using science. Heck, He created science. Why shouldn't he have created it to meet his purposes? There is no direct attack on the legitimacy of God in relation to science. The potential risk, is the trustworthiness of the Bible. It's a fact of Christianity to believe the Bible to be a spiritually inspired book. It's common for said Christians to believe it to be very or entirely historically accurate. There are some, but not as many who consider it to be a book of both faith and science.

I remember hearing about Newton's belief that God had written two great books, the Bible and science. He believed that the Bible wasn't a book of science (even if it contained some) and that science didn't, on its own, give a spiritual look at existence.

I'm not a scholar who has dedicated his life to deciphering between allegoric poetry and literal intent. In fact, I don't believe anyone has mastered this art/science. I think it's healthy for Christians to accept their way of reading the Bible may have been a little off, as knowledge increases, but at the same time we cannot explain away the validity of the Bible in containing Truth, especially in the areas of most important Truth.

I think with time the truth will become more evident in some ways, and completely lost in others. The bottom line is that we cannot fully know what happened before we have records for, we can merely look at evidence and come to conclusions or take by faith a book written by the Author of Life... or both.

Just A Gun Lovin' Gal

I don't quite get the current fascination with guns, or for that matter, the predominantly Republican obsession with them.

Should owning a gun be legal? Sure, I think so. But why would you really want one, other than for hunting?

Buying a gun for protection is something understandable (although I might take a different position personally), but can't the line quickly get blurred between what is protection and what is aggressive (called necessity)? I like to believe that the U.S. citizens will not become a panicked nation of anarchy, but if it did... let's look at a scenario.

A weapon begins with protecting your loved ones. It also includes protecting your assets. Then it's all about survival. If things were really this bad, where theft and violence is at an incredible level, what makes you think survival won't dictate what you feel you "deserve?" Or what will stop you from taking from the weaker in the name of provision for you own family. It's sort of a microcosm of international situations (even with our own country recently).

And of all things, it is becoming popular to teach young women how to shoot guns. If Glenn's daughter is crying after using a gun at target practice, don't you think she might cry a little more after shooting/maiming/killing somebody with said gun. I know my three female cousins recently started learning to shoot, and their extreme delight and love of their new loaded friend seriously perplexes and scares me.

Are we going to solve our problems by killing our problems? Or just by scaring them enough through our power (gun)? It's a funny belief for a "Christian Nation" to uphold, when Jesus seemed to uphold us being different people, in a world that is gun happy.

I'm sure there are lots of varying opinions out there on this subject on how important and prevalent guns should be. Leave some comments and share, please.

Living Like Jesus? Really?

Hmm, he drops a couple bombshells in there.

I would gain so much persecution from my fellow Christian family members if I ever did this.  Sadly mostly because of the beard.

A Lifestyle Of Rules

As many of you probably know, I "prefer a vegan diet."  Eating healthy, and avoiding most dairy and meat is a choice that I made when confronted with some truths about the consequences of what you eat.  It has also been reenforced by learning about the effects of mass producing cows, chickens, pigs, etc. in the most cost-effective, as well as morally, dietary, and socially upsetting, manners.

Previous to my "conversion" I ate like a normal American.  Perhaps a bit healthier, with salads and vitamin supplements, but pretty normal.  It was out of a conviction to live a better, healthier life, and a responsibility to friends and family, as well as my God, to take care of what I've been given responsibility over, and conduct myself in a way that promotes quality and quantity of life.  Like I said, it was a conviction, and following through with the choices I made required sacrifice in addition to desire and encouragement.  But there was something new and fresh in my decision.  I despised the poisons offered me, and rejected them at nearly every opportunity, despite the temptation.  I trained my body and my mind to think and expect differently, but it was all fueled by an active desire to do what is right, and help inspire others to do the same.

The funny thing about a change like that is, it soon loses its passion, and turns common place.  It becomes about rules you've set for your mind and body, rather than a desire for "what is best."  I no longer detest the idea of hydrogenated corn syrup or the chlorine in our drinking water.  I do my best to not partake of such things, but there's less conviction to it; it is simply the new norm.

I've also noticed a flexibility to consume the forbidden.  My mental military is like an army who has lost the vision of their purpose, through their uneventful stationing in a foreign land.  The battles that used to be my mind verses my eyes and tastebuds has become my mind, eyes, and tastebuds teaming up against my stomach.  I don't deny myself the sugary foods because I know the harm they will do me (if I deny them at all), I do so because I know my stomach will exact revenge.

So although I eat in a good, similar fashion to when I started, something is certainly different and amiss.

It amazes me how it can be a similar series coming from my spirit and faith.

There are times I will reevaluate my faith and with conviction I will make decisions of what I need to add and what I need to exclude from how I live.  Passion fills me and enables me to carry out these Godly desires with respect for God, myself, and others.  I feel like I've found a Truth that matters and I want to show it to the world through life.

But once again, all too soon I lose sight of why I do what I do.  It becomes for the sake of the deed itself rather than the spirit of righteousness, godliness, and repentance.  When Christianity becomes a passive lifestyle I think that's a dangerous place to be.  I also think it's an easy place to find.  We put a lot of emphasis on how we live (what we do and don't do because of our faith), but none of that means anything if it is not propelled by a spirit of desire for the Kingdom of God.  Without that drive of love for the good, we are but a clanging cymbal.

How do we rejuvenate our apathetic following of our prior convictions?

That's where our relationships come in.  Our relationships as the church and our relationship with Jesus.

Meeting with others who share our faith, who may not be in a place of apathy, but a place of passion, can help spark your spirit.  Inspiration confronting unsatisfaction brings the heart and rational mind face to face, resulting in reflectional hope for more.

Meeting with Jesus, in your prayer time and Bible reading, gives the opportunity to get the same inspiration, reflection, and hope.  I believe in this time you will be stretched too.  New aspirations, taking things to the next level, helps to reinvigorate the spirit to step up to the challenge, realizing the calling.

Realize the calling.  Remember why you live the way you do.  Confront your life with the love, purpose, and intentionality Christ displayed in his life and death.  Fathom the responsibility placed upon you as his disciple.  Listen to his voice.  Bring about the Kingdom by encouraging Truth in every facet of your life.

Rinse and Repeat.

This Is How We Vote

Every election year politics capture the attention of the American people, mesmerizing us with its hypnotic chants of civic duty, and instilling the fear of "the other guy" deep within us.  Everyone is affected by this quadrennial holiday of sorts; whether they react with gusto toward their man, concern of who to vote for, or apathy due to the overwhelming information or a disheartened state from deceptive promises and corruption in our political parties.  However we act in response to this time of year, we all are all made aware of what is happening, and thus we make our choices of how to react in accordance with our stance; whether it appears as action or inaction, we are in fact making a decision that involves us in the process.

So,   how  will  you   react?

Does your vote make a difference?  Will either candidate fulfill all your hopes and dreams for this country?  Is Democracy no longer effective, rendered paralyzed in its ideality by a straying from Constitutionality and a bureaucratic roadblock in the way of true choice?  When only the Republican or Democratic picks ever have a chance of becoming President, do we really have the choice we should as Americans?

Does any candidate fully represent you?  Are you voting for a lesser of two evils?  Are you compromising some of what you hold as truth, voting for him that comes closest in the areas that you deem as most important.  Wouldn't it be great if there was a candidate that held all of the right perspectives on what really matters?

Good news!  You can be the President.  Perhaps not of the United States; we'd have to be pretty crazy to elect you, but you can be President of your own life.  After all, isn't the President the one chosen to act out the Constitutional truths of this land, upholding justice through knowledge, wisdom, and perhaps God.

No matter who you are, you can make your vote known everyday.  Not for a politician or other elected official, but for truth.  Make an informed decision on what merits your vote in your heart and in this world.  Every word we speak and action we present casts a ballot.  When the chads of our life are counted, do our votes match our "politics?"

If you are a Christian, this remains true, but takes an entirely new perspective and depth.

9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. 

11 Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade others. But what we are is known to God, and I hope it is known also to your conscience.12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart.13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you.14 For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. 

16 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 
- 2 Corinthians 5:9-21

If we really know the Lord, we fear Him, in understanding that he holds us accountable to these votes (actions) we take in our lives daily.  And thus we persuade others, for we have been given the truth, and along with that truth the duty of being ambassadors to the Truth.  We testify to the forgiveness of sins and the grace of God for those who believe.  We do this to be Christ's righteousness to the world, and in doing so you would know who we our, in our intentions for truth and love of others, within your conscience

No candidate can take your duty for you.  No man on Earth can act in your stead and alter the judgment set forth for you.  Obama or McCain, if elected, will have a new set of responsibilities pinned to his chest, but none of them will be your responsibilities.

Let's stop pointing fingers.  If America is in moral decay, and if our leaders are corrupt or unwise, let us assess what part we have played in the state of our country, rather than pretending the problem originates in politics.  The problem originates in our individuals and our families forsaking the truth by not living it and not sharing it as they should.  Politicians are puppets that find their power in appealing to the populus.  Any corruption or ill-decisions is a direct result of the heart of the people.  Christ is in the business of changing hearts, and we are called to the business of making Christ known.

Let's purify ourselves.  Let us vote for our officials to the best of our ability, but let us not find our hope in politicians or politics.  Let us find our hope in moral virtues, righteousness, forgiveness, and a God who holds a truth stronger than any man's convictions and any legal document ever penned.  Vote everyday, in everything you do.

Are You A Risk Taker?

::Note, this is mainly for dudes, but girls will probably find a way of relating it to themselves too::

I have been pondering risk. It came up in a conversation the other day, and then I read an article refuting many ideas in the book Wild at Heart, along those lines.

In a world surrounded by extreme sports, heroic movies, and Nike's "Just Do It" campaign, we feel a need to exercise a life of taking risks. This is especially true of men. As we are weighing it out, we are overcome with the responsibility as MAN to risk our life, limbs, and character to secure our status as "manly."
It is our ability to take risks that determine our strength, valor, and value to ourselves, to others and to our God(?). Risks prove to ourselves that we can do it. Mind over matter. I AM CONQUEROR! THIS IS SPARTA!!! So in short... it's pride. It's me in my ability overcoming fear and doing whatever I set my mind to.

In relation to others, we may now combine our pride with competition and acceptance. Men are always sizing each other up. Sometimes literally, others more abstractly. When I enter a room I always take stock of height in that room and where I rank. This is probably more common being a short guy. We do this in other areas of life too. Who can take the biggest risk and still land on his feet? It's a competition. I think competition might be the most widely used drug in America. It is everywhere; sports, business, church, family... we want to be the best, more impressive than the next guy... but often in the wrong way. And when you land that "jump" of life on your feet everyone will admire you and/or be jealous of you... the thing every guy desires.

Being the best Christian is a game we often play before God. We take the biggest risks in "faith" knowing that if we do it we are going to score some major brownie points with God, and once again the other people in our church will be either admiring or jealous of us, SLAM DUNK! This is a delusion. God is not a risk. He is the anti-risk. He is the safety net. From my standpoint, it seems very hard to not equate faith with risk. Faith is hope in things unseen, it seems to have a risk right there, because I don't know, I can't see what's there. If we believe in the word though, we know there is no risk. Still without faith this is hard to swallow. We see many men and women have been killed for their faith, or have encountered extreme hardship despite or because of their faith. That looks like a risk to me.

If you are a Christian you risk the possibility of hard things like these. NO! These things are guaranteed! Not risk, guarantee.

The real underlying question here is who/what do you fear? A risk is determined by fear. Am I afraid of not being good enough on my own, am I afraid of what people will think of me, am I afraid of regret in life?

28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny^[a]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

32"Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

34"Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to turn
" 'a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
36a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.'^[b]

37"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

- Matthew 10:28-39

The Bible clearly says repeatedly that we are to fear the Lord. As we fear the Lord, He proves that all else is not worthy to be feared, because he has authority over all. We all should fear for our souls. Living a life apart from complete faith in God introduces a risk far surpassing anything we can incur in our current state.

We must not consider our faith a risk or an opportunity to show our own greatness. Rather it is a time for humility, to revel in God's faithfulness and authority in keeping to His promises. We have enough witnesses to know not to doubt, for God is not a risk taker. So let's grow in patience that is often very lacking in our "risk-taking" lives. Let's know we are avoiding the largest risk by keeping small and true under Christ's vast righteousness.

I was largely inspired to write this after reading a passage out of the book of Sirach. I'm going to end with that chapter.

1 My son, if you come forward to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for temptation.
2 Set your heart right and be steadfast, and do not be hasty in time of calamity.
3 Cleave to him and do not depart, that you may be honored at the end of your life.
4 Accept whatever is brought upon you, and in changes that humble you be patient.
5 For gold is tested in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.
6 Trust in him, and he will help you; make your ways straight, and hope in him.
7 You who fear the Lord, wait for his mercy; and turn not aside, lest you fall.
8 You who fear the Lord, trust in him, and your reward will not fail;
9 you who fear the Lord, hope for good things, for everlasting joy and mercy.
10 Consider the ancient generations and see: who ever trusted in the Lord and was put to shame? Or who ever persevered in the fear of the Lord and was forsaken? Or who ever called upon him and was overlooked?
11 For the Lord is compassionate and merciful; he forgives sins and saves in time of affliction. 12 Woe to timid hearts and to slack hands, and to the sinner who walks along two ways!
13 Woe to the faint heart, for it has no trust! Therefore it will not be sheltered.
14 Woe to you who have lost your endurance! What will you do when the Lord punishes you?
15 Those who fear the Lord will not disobey his words, and those who love him will keep his ways. 16 Those who fear the Lord will seek his approval, and those who love him will be filled with the law. 17 Those who fear the Lord will prepare their hearts, and will humble themselves before him.
18 Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, but not into the hands of men; for as his majesty is, so also is his mercy.

Finding God From The Needy

I realized today that I have blogs linked on my blog that I have not visited for quite some time. Upon noticing this I clicked on the Jenlemen blog link. I browsed through some titles and skimmed some writings. Although I had forgotten much about the blog, but remembered her poetic writing.

I chose to read an entry about her time in Rwanda. It kind of relates to my last blog, but is also different.

I recommend reading it now. It's very neat.

We think God is something we need to trick people into believing. Our statements must be intelligent and without flaw before they will respect Him. Our music must be professional and moving for them to open up to Him. And our Jesus must be relatable and offering good solutions for them to partake of Him.

We forget it's God genuinely flowing through us, and his Spirit touching the heart that will bring respect, openness, and repentance. It's simple. And we are too often a distraction, complicating God's simple message delivered by His Spirit. When there is nothing but love for God and each other, I think the message comes through much easier than when there are microphones, amplifiers, lights, staging, pride, selfishness, and appearance to worry about. Instead let the little children come and let the love flow.



Girls Singing in Church in Umutara, Rwanda from jen lemen on Vimeo.

Saving Your Bracelet

This past week I attended Heatwave, Youth For Christ's summer beach trip for the NE part of the country. I have been there many times before, but more times as "video guy" than a Campus Life leader for students. This year I was both. I felt extreme responsibility to be 100% dedicated to both duties, but it was extremely hard to balance the busyness with remaining spiritually open to God's voice. But despite all that I was doing I formed relationships and witnessed other friendships develop. I sat with the everyone else on the porch during our group meetings and listened to students pour out about their lives; who they are (good and bad), what God is showing them, and the witness that has come from friends on the trip.

Last night as I prepared for my Campus Life meeting, I was feeling restless about the topic I chose. I thought, "I need to bring an important element from Heatwave to our meeting tonight," especially since none of the students that night had gone to Heatwave. As I cleaned out my car I found my bracelet from Heatwave. It's a dear thing to the kids, and I know many are still wearing it even after the trip. Why? To remember. What would students say if you asked them what the bracelet helps them to remember? I can almost garantee two answers would soar above them all. 1. What God showed me this weekend. 2. The friendships I made and the closeness I felt in them.

All of this was stirring around and I felt like it was on the tip of my tongue, how it all fits together. I finally got to the point where I was down on my knees praying for direction. Within seconds it came to me. Confession.

I had even been talking about confession the night before, in regard to trips like Heatwave and even life, with my friend Kelly. For some reason I never considered to speak about it though. Confession is what separates Heatwave and trips like it from other camps and whatnot. Many students feel safety and trust and expose their soul for all to see. They stop pretending they are someone they aren't, and desperately want to be free to be, coming clean before God and everyone else.

"The one who covers his transgressions will not prosper, but whoever confesses them and forsakes them will find mercy."

- Proverbs 28:13

It comes so natural with our sin to hide. The shame and the fear cloud any reason we might see of how to remedy the situation. We pretend like the cancer doesn't exist, but it continues to eat away at us inside.

1 Blessed is he
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.

2 Blessed is the man
whose sin the LORD does not count against him
and in whose spirit is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent,
my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night
your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was sapped
as in the heat of summer.
Selah

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, "I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD "—
and you forgave
the guilt of my sin.
Selah

- Psalm 32:1-5

Even the first sin in the Garden of Eden was immediately followed by hiding from God (Genesis 3:8-10). God questions Adam, "Where are you?"

Where... Are... You?

Isn't that the question our spirit cries sometimes? WHERE AM I? We have become so out of touch with who we are by pretending. We notice our actions as if we were an outsider and wonder who that person is, because we know it's not us. But at the same time we are so afraid of addressing our sin. We are so afraid of what those around us would think if they knew what we've done, what we quietly think in our minds, and how distressed our spirit is. Maybe we're even afraid that they won't even care when we express this.

Yesterday I visited a site called PostSecret.com. Here, people anonymously send in post cards with their secrets. It's a form of confession, of saying things they are too afraid to really share with anyone. Here is one that struck me.

"I have a secret inside me. It hurts like hell, and I want to let it out, but I don't know what it is."

I feel like that's me. I feel like its all of us, with our unconfessed sin. Sins we have grown so accustomed to, that we have tucked away out of sight for so long, that we forgot they were even there. But they are still wasting away our bones, and we feel them all the time. We are unfulfilled in our fear, shame, and ignoring of them. We need to let them out! But first we need to know them.

Speaking with a friend recently, she told me how horrible things had been coming out of her. This woman who seems like the perfect Christian is saying how much sin was pouring out of her over a few day period. The neat part is that she journals and was looking over her journal from a couple days prior, where she prayed that God would search her heart and show her what was in it. There was sin hurting her inside that she was unaware of, and from her asking, God revealed it so she would then deal with it. Seeking out your "secret," asking God expose it, and listening to His response are steps in discovering what's in you. Most of the time it'll be hidden (because you're great at hiding things) so it won't be evident, other times you'll be very aware of it.

Once the secrets are known, we need to confess them to God and to each other. When you ponder those actions, the first seems more easy to swallow than the second, but they can't be apart.

Because God doesn't gossip, blog, or usually speak audibly to the people we know, we think He doesn't pose a threat to our little charade. But this is not taking into consideration the heart of confession. The heart of confession is acknowledging before God and man that I am broken, that I am sinful, and that I need God's forgiveness for what I've done, and his Spirit to make me righteous. It is embracing my acknowledgment that I am not perfect, and that I cannot pretend I am. If that is what my confession is, confessing to man will only help me to establish more tangibly that I am not IT. It's a testimony that all have fallen short (especially me), and it is only by God's grace that any can be deemed righteous. Confession is absolutely necessary for repentance and salvation.

"People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: 'You brod of vipers! Who warned yu to flee the coming wrath? Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say t yourselves, "We have Abraham as our father." I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children fr Abraham. The ax is already at the root f the trees, and every tree that does not produce god fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.'

'I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come ne wh is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.'"

You need to be real. Otherwise you are a brood of vipers. When we don't confess to each other, the sincere followers will be overwhelmed and downcast. It creates a religion of needing to be infallible, and if you mess up, you must not be as good as them, rather than of faith of mercy, forgiveness, and perseverance.

Lastly, we need to confess before each other because we need each other's help.

"So confess your sins to one anther and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great effectiveness."

- James 5:16

How can we be there for one another when we don't know who our friends really are or what struggles they are going through. Often times prayer requests at church consist of the superficial problems that we aren't embarrassed to admit. How does that do any good in helping the deep hardships, questions, situations, and sins that are eating us away inside. We need to pray with one another. It is effective and it's the action we can always perform to help those we love.

I spoke this message last night at Campus Life. Coincidentally Matthew Paul Turner's blog has a very related post today.

If we are to be a church, we must bring no condemnation toward people. We need to love by doing what will bring the best for them, and allow them to be free and real. If we, being confident in Christ, openly confess our shortcomings, our wrongs, our sin, and God's forgiveness, how much more open will everyone else be to admit their sin without feeling judged and believe God can forgive them as He has forgiven you.

Let's make confession a regular occurrence in our churches, youth groups, Campus Life groups, small groups, friendships, families, etc, etc ,etc. When we do I think people will come in flocks for the opportunity to finally be real, set free from the shame and fear of sin and judgment. Let your life be a living reminder of the real Church, be a living bracelet for all to see.

When You Take The Time

I was walking down Carson Street in the South Side looking for the place I was supposed to meet my friend. Her initial directions were close, but not spot on. I walk with a confused look on my face, scanning and rescanning the names displayed on each establishment. I ask some people if they know where it is, and they point me down the street further. As I walk, I'm trying not to be in too much of a rush. A man sitting on the curb asks if I would give money to a veteran. Usually I am pretty open to such a request for charity; but I hesitated. I didn't know if I was going to. He looked to be in good, healthy condition, and he wasn't too old either. Why does he need my money? The call to "give to anyone who asks of you" stirred my heart and I pulled a $5 bill out of my wallet.

His name was Raymond. I asked where the man had served. He had been on active duty for several years, and spent a good amount of time in Germany. As I asked this I found a seat next to him on the curb. He told me about the problems with the military, where once you come back there is no longer a job for you. This is an circumstance he found himself in years back. He went on to tell me some things that he stands for, like living together with people, not differentiating between skin color, and being an example of how African Americans and all people should act. He likes peace, which is why he spends time just sitting in South Side, avoiding the business of downtown, where he lives.

As our conversation continued he told me his "girl" recently passed away. When he continued to speak of her, and his eyes became glassy and watery, it was apparent how much she meant to him. He told me of all the things they planned to do, but never did, like visit the zoo and aviary. He also reminisced of the times they would walk together in the park, and she would teach him how to use the buses in this city, being that he's a Southern boy.

One of the top priorities on his mind was to do something as a memorial to her. He wanted to give back to a city and an area he had appreciation for. Creatively and innocently enough, he told me he wanted to get a few thousand dollars so he could rent an ice cream stand for two days and give free ice cream to children in the South Side. He perked up at the thought of that. It was encouraging to see this middle aged, African American, who detested stealing, lying, and substance abuse. His father died from alcoholism, and his mother currently was an alcoholic and addicted to cigarettes. He encouraged me not to drink, as he doesn't.

Raymond would readily admit that he was having a hard time since the passing of his girlfriend, and had also had some bad luck; having gone to prison for a month by a case of mistaken identity (according to him), and for some reason I actually believe him. He grew one little clump of hair on his otherwise shaved head. This was to distinguish himself, so he would not be mistaken for any other criminals. Even through all these things he spoke of God being there. He knew that there was hope in God. The man had a good story and a hope for the future.

I felt a tugging on my heart to pray for him. I have trouble with this, and usually don't go through with it, whether stranger or friend. But this time I did. On a public street, sitting on a little brick step, I put my hand on his shoulder and prayed for him. I gave him my card so that I could continue to help him in whatever he needed, and to allow us to continue our new friendship.

And I wasn't the first. Others had come to know this man and help him. This coming weekend, someone he made friends with was driving to Richmond, and taking Raymond with him, so Ray could visit his family in Richmond. I could tell he was excited and felt blessed to have such an opportunity, in a city where he is very much on his own now. It all comes together with everyone doing a little or big part for those going through a rough spot or a rough life.

I'm glad I sat. I'm glad I started conversation and progressed it beyond the initial shallow niceties. This isn't about me doing something nice. This is about all of us realizing that there are people in need all around us, and we need to learn to sacrifice our schedules and our wants a little bit in order to make a new friend and show God's love. I have no regrets about what happened tonight.

Being GOOD Christians: Part 1

This is the desire of all those who follow Jesus, isn't it, being good?

Thinking of a Christian I often picture the clean-cut appearance, with a pressed shirt and tie. Mr. Always Smiling, and his wife tending to the 3.2 kids while ironing and making dinner. Really, Mr. and Mrs. Always Smiling Christian look a lot like the American Dream with a Bible in it's hand. Their kids don't watch bad TV shows or movies and go to Christian school. These people look like great role models, removing themselves from the temptations of the world and appear to be living a life very untainted by sin, to the point you might not even know sin existed.

Of course there are other depictions, such as Mr. Pull Over Christian. This is the Christian that pulls over when someone has a flat on the side of the road. This guy is willing to get his clothes dirty and sacrifice half an hour to make sure that you can get that tire changed or put some gas in your empty tank. I'm sure there are many out there who are very thankful for Pull Over Christian guy.

Then there's Ms. Prayer Warrior. She is always willing to make time for you in her prayer routine. This motherly figure makes you feel like someone cares, and you KNOW she is always praying. It seems like she must do nothing else other than pray for others and spend time with her little Schitzu (usually both at the same time).

Hip Teen Christian is becoming a dominant force in the land of Christian stereotypes. This dude uses music, extreme sports, and popular movies to build his witness. The older Christians in his church, like Mr. Always Smiling Christian don't appreciate his ways too much, and suspect he's going down a dangerous path, but the dude is just trying to be like Jesus. He intertwines his life with the lives of those around him and popular culture. Because of Jesus he's not of the world, but he is most definitely in the world. In fact, you might not even know he is a Christian until he invites you to youth group sometime.

Those are some stereotypes that I feel I have earned the right to use, being in the church all my life. I have fallen in more than one of those categories, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing. Those who read this blog and know my sarcastic and critical tendencies are waiting for me to rip each of these descriptions to shreds, as to why they have no idea what a life toward Christ really looks like. I'm not going to do that, although I will give some advice in a little bit.

Each of these people have an understanding of great value. Mr. Always Smiling sees the value of purity and the joy of a close family. Mr. Pull Over Christian can grasp the idea of "Do Unto Others" and knows that by sacrificing he is really expanding God's Kingdom, something much more important than being late to wherever he was going. Ms. Prayer Warrior knows intimately that God listens to the prayers of his people, and although she feels she has limitations in her capabilities, prayer is an incredible tool that she can and will use to the best of her ability. Hip Teen Christian is someone who sees Jesus as someone who reached out to those beyond church walls. He wants to build trusting relationships with others so that he can have the opportunity to share and show the testimony of how Christ changed him.

All of these members are part of the body. When you bring them all together, the body looks pretty balanced (although I have excluded many parts, but just for an illustration). And this is a common understanding, I think. Certain people have certain gifts given to them to use, so it all evens out in the end and we are a complete body. This ought not negate our responsibility to be complete in our spirituality. In verse 7 it says, "To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." All should benefit from spiritual gifts, and the spiritual gifts of some should generate spiritual fruit from all. The fruit of the spirit does not act in the same manner as the gifts of the spirit, where each gift is not given to all, but to some. The fruit of the spirit is for all, and all Christians should be partaking of all of the fruit.

28And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

- 1 Corinthians 12:28

This verse is speaking of very specific gifts that make everyone valuable and no one complete without the other. You can say that even in other spiritual manners: grace, peace, love, charity, suffering, prayer, etc. some will have more of a natural inclination towards doing and being these virtues, but that does not exclude any from striving for all of them. In my experience people live a life of saying, well God has blessed me with being this way, so this is how I will serve Him. Since when is the easy and natural things in your life what God automatically calls you to?

Moses - Exodus 4:10-17 - God calls Moses to do something beyond what he feels is his natural ability. Moses complains, showing little faith in God and in himself, which kindled his anger against Moses.

Samson - Judges 13-16 - Samson is a man whose strength was his means of bringing about judgment on the captors of Isreal, the Philistines. He had killed thousands in his life, with impossible odds stacked against him. The Spirit of the Lord would come upon him and give him incredible strength. He was a man of pride, who could not be hurt. He did all of these things with no sacrifice to himself. In the end though, he learns humility from his pride, through weakness that he had never known. His final act is an act of sacrifice, where he will have to give his own life, and in doing that he destroys more Philistines than he had his entire life.


Isaiah - Isaiah 6 - Isaiah is a man who, by his own confession is not the pure man he wishes to be. He knows he is not worthy to be in the throne room of God, and not worthy to do the works of God. By the cleansing of his sin and a removal of his guilt Isaiah can respond to God's call of someone to send in His name, "Here am I; send me!"

Jesus - Matthew 26:39 - Jesus himself, who was lacking nothing, showed a preference to stay with his disciple and the ministry that had been established. But God's will showed that Jesus had to die on a cross for the salvation of all man, and Jesus made his will one with the Father's.

God does not use His followers in the way we might have Him. Since we know these stories through to completion, we know that all works out well. But if we had been there at the time, or even more, the person God called to do things contrary to our natural abilities, how could we not question Him? God's choices often times make no sense from our understanding. It's in this same regard that we must take up all of the fruit and all of the virtues of the Spirit and live them out.

8For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

- 1 Timothy 4:8

We are called to godliness, not in just some areas, but all areas. The book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom, which shows how to live, how to be good. Wisdom encompasses all we are to do, it shows the truths that were created from the beginning, and it brings us to life. When it comes down to it, Wisdom is the chief attribute we should strive toward, because through It we can can understand and work toward the others.

22 "The LORD brought me forth as the first of his works, ^[b] , ^[c]
before his deeds of old;

23 I was appointed ^[d] from eternity,
from the beginning, before the world began.

24 When there were no oceans, I was given birth,
when there were no springs abounding with water;

25 before the mountains were settled in place,
before the hills, I was given birth,

26 before he made the earth or its fields
or any of the dust of the world.

27 I was there when he set the heavens in place,
when he marked out the horizon on the face of the deep,

28 when he established the clouds above
and fixed securely the fountains of the deep,

29 when he gave the sea its boundary
so the waters would not overstep his command,
and when he marked out the foundations of the earth.

30 Then I was the craftsman at his side.
I was filled with delight day after day,
rejoicing always in his presence,

31 rejoicing in his whole world
and delighting in mankind.

32 "Now then, my sons, listen to me;
blessed are those who keep my ways.

33 Listen to my instruction and be wise;
do not ignore it.

34 Blessed is the man who listens to me,
watching daily at my doors,
waiting at my doorway.

35 For whoever finds me finds life
and receives favor from the LORD.

36 But whoever fails to find me harms himself;
all who hate me love death."

- Proverbs 8:22-36

We must move away from consciously accepting an unbalanced spiritual life. Once there is a decision to follow Christ, there is automatically a decision to follow the ways of Wisdom. Jesus said he was Life and Wisdom says she is Life, so logically they must be one in the same. A Christian must be seeking, aware, and available. Seeking Truth in every facet of life, being aware enough to notice Truth when it shows itself, and being available within yourself to apply what is revealed to you, changing wherever necessary.

Mr. and Mrs. Always Smiling and Hip Teen Christian could teach each other a lot about following Jesus. Both are correct, and both are not totally correct. Hip Teen Christian needs to learn that there is a difference between being available to people in society and surrounding yourself with corrupting influences. The Always Smiling's need to understand that Christianity isn't a perfect little bubble, but it's a place of getting out there and bringing light to darkness.

Pull Over Christian and Ms. Prayer Warrior could also teach each other much. Pull Over Christian needs to learn sacrifice doesn't just need to be a physical action, but it can be taking time away and caring enough to pray for someone, even when no one is watching. Ms. Prayer Warrior could learn to be imaginative in how she helps others. Exploring new ways where she is capable (whether she realizes it or not) to physically get out there and make a difference in someones life.

Obviously all of these stereotypical individuals can influence the others where they are lacking, but I just showed the most stand-out examples.

We have the Spirit, we have the Bible, and we have each other for a reason. All should be bringing us to a place of greater wisdom: greater spiritual understanding and a more complete living out of godliness. It is by the wisdom of the Bible, the revelation of the Spirit of God, and the testing in life of both that we are able to learn what is good. So let us strive to know good.

The Official Drink of Jesus

I went to a convention this past weekend in Atlanta, GA and have been wanting to write a blog about it.

The convention was for a health drink I promote called MonaVie. Let me just say at the very beginning of this, MonaVie is great! I completely back it and would agree it's pretty much the healthiest food you can put in your body. Good stuff. None of my problems stem from the validity of this product.

So I go to this MonaVie conference put on by it's top earner in the MonaVie network marketing company, Brig Hart. I expected to learn a lot more about the science of the drink and its components, maybe hear some testimonies, and of course get some info on how people have promoted it themselves. What I did not expect was Christian Prosperity Fest '08. I knew that Brig Hart was a Christian, but I've been to Christian conferences that talked less about God.

Now I'm certainly not against preaching the Gospel or anything like that, but when someone comes for a business conference and is preached to 85% of the time, paying a decent chunk of change to go, I'd be a little peeved. And I'd probably hold Christianity responsible. As my aunt and I were on our way there, I was asking if certain people would be there. She responded "no" a lot because of the religious aspect of the message. I didn't expect so much though.

Much of it was motivation from Christian speakers, authors, and pastors. A lot of the points I agreed with, but generally I disagreed with the direction each talk pointed the listener toward. Brig would have the crowd of nearly 5,000 cheering "Black Diamond, Black Diamond, Black Diamond," claiming that they will achieve the high and lucrative rank of Black Diamond. This was shown as an opportunity for freedom. No longer do you have to be a slave under a boss, no longer do you need to work 80 hours a week to provide for you family, no longer do you even need to "work." MonaVie has all the answers. Lots of money will little effort.

The "Christian" Prosperity message is one that makes my stomach turn. When someone tells me that God wants me to have lots of money, I know that they don't know that. I may be "blessed" with lots of money, but that blessing could be a huge curse. What good is it for a man to gain the world but lose his soul? Jesus taught living with less... even less than what most would deem adequate, but it was adequate.

When I have preachers on stage and family members in my ear telling me that I can do much good with wealth, I know there is a truth to that, but there is also a deception, a temptation. Jesus even tempts his disciples in this manner. He exposes to them what they will really do with wealth, or more than they need. If you keep reading in Luke 22, you see that Jesus tells his disciples to get all the things they just said they don't need, including swords. A few verses later you see his disciples relying on one of these items instead of on the Word of the Lord. As Peter pulls out his sword and cuts a man's ear off, Jesus rebukes him and shows him the error of believing in possessions, as well as how easy it is to lose focus.

I truly do find myself in the same situation. There is a voice in my head or sometimes standing right in front of me, saying that it's ok to have all this stuff. God wants me to be blessed and to be a blessing to others, money helps God do that. Words like this will lead me away. Money isn't evil, but a man's heart is easily swayed when money is present. I can bless others with my life. I can inspire the multitudes to give small amounts, rather than having a few wealthy give large amounts. Simplicity, relying on God, keeping my priorities straight; these are all blessings greater than money. And work should be a blessing too. Not working for the rest of my life is not something that appeals to me. Not toiling in a job is something that appeals to me. If you love your work, why wouldn't you want to work for life. Whether it's in a job, your community, your church, your family, someone else's family, or whatever, you have a purpose and you must work at that purpose.

I think it's wrong to correlate business and Christianity in such a way, even though I think Jesus should be in your workplace. If anything Jesus would probably call you to less "work" and more life. He wouldn't be as concerned with productivity, as he would enjoying what you're doing and staying focused on the cause. And I don't know if Jesus would be selling Joel Osteen books like crazy at his business convention.

After this past weekend I decided that MonaVie isn't about the money. It's about trying to help people with health. It's a stepping stone to a better lifestyle and diet. MonaVie is not the answer, but it can help a lot. I'm not opposed to making a little money with MonaVie, but I need to stay strict on giving away anything I don't need before I become bound by it. This is hard, and I'm not there; however, I have made great strides and I'm going to continue chugging along.

I was going to mention network marketing in our economic hardship and question whether it's really a good thing. Does having people quit their jobs to sell juice really help our consumer-based economy? Shouldn't we be moving towards jobs that provide products, rather than gaining quick wealth through another (in some manner) service industry. There's a product there, but these people are all selling something they don't manufacture. Also, if our economy dips pretty bad, MonaVie will be one of the first things people drop to save money. I in no way would put my heart and soul into the security of MonaVie. But like I said, it's an incredible product and I'd recommend everyone give it a shot.

If you want more info on MonaVie let me know.

We Are Still Called To Be Fruitful And Multiply

I can already tell you that this post probably isn't what you think. I'm not going to call birth control evil. I'm not going to tell you that your purpose as a man, or especially a woman, is primarily to continue the species. I'm joking ladies, and I do see an importance in continuing humankind. And believe it or not, this isn't going to be an analogy of how you should be multiplying your finances with the blessing of God. This is something much more Biblically inspired than that.

I was reading Luke. I have been going through the book of Luke with some of the high school kids in my Campus Life group. A few weeks ago we were at the end of chapter 9, and this week we started chapter 10. I was coming home from a trip to Atlanta today, and I figured it was as good a time as any to prepare for the Campus Life meeting this evening. I began to read, "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him two by two into every town..." I kind of stopped an pondered. I still had 23 1/2 verses to go, and I was already pondering after the first half of verse one.

I thought to a play that a woman who used to go to my church, Missy, wrote and directed for the children. The name of the play was "Two by Tow." I remember it well because I video taped it and made a DVD of it. The play was a story of Noah and the ark. Two by two. I know that Jesus is very aware of the Old Testament; in fact he probably has it memorized, if he's a good learned Rabbi. Throughout Jesus' teachings he constantly refers to OT scripture, whether directly or just by mimicking a thought or phrase to show connection. Maybe Jesus was connecting the sending of these 72 followers with Noah and the ark. I turned to Genesis 6 to refresh my mind on any nuances of the Noah story... maybe something I could pick out.

17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons' wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them."

22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

Genesis 7

1 The LORD then said to Noah, "Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven ^[a] of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth.

- Genesis 6:17- 7:3

I was honestly shocked to find something I didn't remember at all. God calls Noah to bring in seven of every kind of clean animal and two of ever kind of unclean animal. 7 clean, 2 unclean. 7 2. 72! Some may think this is just a weird fluke, but Jews love playing with numbers. I think this is a very justified thing here. Jesus is somehow trying to put what God did with the flood
together with what God is doing now through Jesus' message. What could this message be?

I'm not going to claim to have this in its entirety, since I have been slightly dwelling on it for only about 10 hours now. But here are my thoughts.

Why did God have at least two of a kind come on the ark of every species? In Genesis 6 and 7 you see that the reason for bringing the animals was to keep these animals alive. They are coming to Noah to be kept alive for the duration of the flood. Did these animals choose Noah? No, God chose these animals. Because God chose the animals they went to Noah and were saved with a purpose. The purpose of their salvation was to multiply and restore.

Jesus finds himself with a similar adequate lack, that Noah had. Noah did not have an excess of animals on the ark, but he had enough. In verse 2 of Luke 10, Jesus expresses this, reiterating an idea from the previous chapter. Here, there are many people who are "willing" to follow Jesus and live as he teaches. But throughout these six verses Jesus continually rebukes people who seem willing to follow him. It's because they're saying one thing with their mouth, yet believing something else in their heart. There is a hesitation and they are not fully committed. That is a problem to Jesus. So although it seems like many are called, few are chosen.

But this is ok, because as you can see we have enough rabbits in the world. Species survived. How did they survive? How did they more than survive, but prosper? They multiplied. Jesus is reinventing the flood. God vowed he would never destroy the Earth with a flood again, but what was the initial purpose? This was an "attempt" at renewal. God essentially restarted and gives the same command he gave in the beginning of creation "be fruitful and increase in number." This is God working to make things right again. Despite God eliminating the unrighteous, it did not eliminate unrighteousness. Very shortly after the flood we see Noah behaving badly... I feel like that should be a commercial you see on late night TV, "Noahs Behaving Badly! *Uncensored*" It's funny cause Noah does end up naked and his sons see him, so he really was uncensored.

Unrighteousness is still around, this whole flood thing appears to be a "failed" attempt, notice that's in quotes. God vows that he will never destroy the whole earth or curse the ground again because of man's wickedness. It's kind of like God does it to show that's now how to do it. Sounds barbaric at the cost of so many lives, but very likely necessary for the time.

God still desires for man to follow Him, but also decides that cursing "the ground" because of the evil of man is not the way to go. If God is not giving up on this rescue mission of man's heart, how will he accomplish it? This is where we fast forward 4,000 years or so. Jesus has his 72. Jesus has his pairs, set with the duty to be fruitful and increase. This is a restoring of the Earth, just like God was working toward with Noah and his family. They failed, and in doing so, established something very important. It takes more than killing wicked people to bring about righteousness.

The new Way will not be that of purging people from the planet and physically rebirthing the population in hopes of better success; rather it is a movement to purge the evil out of them and restore humankind through a spiritual awakening (rebirth) one by one. These 72 sent out aren't "makin' babies," they're bringing about spiritual renewal and thus restoration. Man and the world were created good, the restoration is the process of bringing everything back to that good.

Jesus was the good restoration, so we could know what it looked like. Jesus is the white. When white balancing a camera, you need absolute white. The camera looks at the absolute white, and decides it is white. By knowing that white is really white, all colors come out truly represented. If you place the camera in front of a light blue, the camera can decide that is white. When that happens, all the other colors will be seriously flawed. Man has a tendency to white balance to an odd color, believing it is white. It screws up his whole perspective of everything, where the world doesn't make sense; when grass isn't green and the sky isn't blue. Jesus is that white that sets us straight. Through him we can see the world in it's truth and color.

By knowing that truth, we can then go out and make that truth known. We can act according to life in the truth, where actions fit nicely with faith in the Kingdom of God. By living this correct life we inspire truth among others. We preach it whether we're speaking or not. As the truth is lived out, people acknowledge it. We are chosen by God, just as the animals and humans were for Noah. We are chosen in Christ to be saved and then bring salvation through increase in those experiencing this Life.

At times this may seem like a simple truth. Many may take it more as a naive idea. But I would say it's a powerful truth that is simple once your white balance is set. Once you know how God's kingdom functions, you can forget how the world's kingdom functions and stop relying on it. The Truth is finally here, so many wanted it, how can we not take advantage of it. Become like a child and forget what you knew, forget what is "realistic" in the eyes of the world, forget how things "work" in the ways of the world; focus on the Way of Jesus.

21At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

22"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

23Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, "Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. 24For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

- Luke 10:21-24

Time For Christians To Wake Up And Think

Sometime in the 1980s, Christians in the West began to label evangelistic techniques and reconfigure church services to reduce the message to the lowest level of cognition in the audience. As nobly intentioned as that was, the end result was the lowest level of writing and gospel preaching one could imagine. Mass media was brought to aid this purpose, and before long evangelicals were seen to be masters in entertainment and minimalists in thought. As this was happening, the intellectual arenas were being plundered and young minds gradually driven away from their “faith” in the gospel message. Christians are paying our dues today and likely will pay for an entire generation.
- Ravi Zacharias - An Apologetic for Apologetics

My friend Jamie sent me a link to a debate of atheist Richard Dawkins against Christian theologist Alister McGrath. I've seen and heard some stuff from Dawkins in the past. He certainly has become seen as a threat by orthodox Christians, but in some ways I think it's a good thing he's here to shake things up. The quote above is all to true, and maybe Dawkins will help to reignite Christian thought from its slumber. The debate is below in two parts. I think it's about an hour total.

Richard Dawkins vs. Alister McGrath part 1
Richard Dawkins vs. Alister McGrath part 2

A decent bit of this talk, on both sides, doesn't do much. They find themselves at a sort of standstill as far as the debate goes. I think it is largely due to the fact that they are coming from completely different frames of reference. McGrath draws attention to this in slightly different, but similar words. It's not so much that religion proves God, but religion gives a frame of reference in which to test everything you see. He illustrates this with a quote from C.S. Lewis...

"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."

The real criticism that I see against Dawkins, at which point his side is not proven wrong, but begins to loosen is this: at any point I can accept and understand his facts and evidences as a human being of reason, but he cannot do the same towards my faith because he is not a believer.

Dawkins assumes that he can test Christianity or even faith in God by knowing their doctrine, their beliefs, and their history. I don't believe this is true. You can test physical things without being a part of them, but you can't test things of the mind or things of the soul (if you even believe you have a soul) without being actively involved on the inside. I cannot know exactly what an aardvark is able to think or deduct or what the exact level of their awareness is since I am not one of them. In the same way, and C.S. Lewis speaks on this in Mere Christianity, I can understand human awareness or what our comprehension and thought processes look like because I am human. Now reason is something all men are capable of, and I would say a spiritual connection with God is also. I cannot relate to someone of reason if I have no experience with it. Fortunately, our whole social structure is largely, even fundamentally, formed on reason, thus I am well acquainted with it and can relate to others who reason. But if Dawkins denies a God and is unacquainted with the practice of spirituality, especially that of Christianity for this instance, how can he assume to question a Christian?

In truth he may have more knowledge, but we Christians have an entirely different dimension or vantage point to look at the situation by (according to us at least). Sure he has every right to be skeptical of our "spirituality." I am living a life of reason. Dawkins is not living a life of Christianity. If he were really desiring to scientifically test Christianity, it would require for him to partake of it to test it, not stand outside observing it without experiencing it. The truth is, Dawkins can take this in somewhat of a scientific sense if he desires, but the rules are slightly skewed from tradiational science, where he must now observe from the inside and not the outside. This becomes a bit of a mix, like psychology is, where we understand psychology from others and also incorporating that with the inside perspective of ourselves.

Once inside he would have the opportunity to give an unbiased look at what is happening, seeing as how he can look through both a frame of reason and a frame of Christian spirituality. Christians obviously don't nearly agree on what that framework shows, but it's somewhere between "spirituality is the more important and dominant frame of reference," and "Christian spirituality and reason are equal frames, but rely on each other for the most truth." I tend to side with the latter. I suppose there could be reason to suggest that there is a third option that reason is the dominant frame of reference, which would be supported by those who abandon their faith for science. Either way Dawkins has not done sufficient testing if he has not sunk himself into the Christian life to judge for himself. I'm not saying then that it will come out proving anything for sure, but I don't think it could bring means to deny the Christian points and could have unexpected results.


The other marvelous point made by a woman questioner, is that McGrath and Dawkins interchanged God and religion like it was nothing. I noticed this from the beginning and was bothered by it. As McGrath agreed with after the question, these are very different things being said. One assumes a particular doctrine or sect of people, and the other assumes any who claim God. It's important to realize the difference, that God is not religion and religion is not God! I would certainly agree that religion makes people do bad things. Religion should be an expression of our search for knowing God if it is anything; however, God does not make is do wrong, rather it is our misconception of Him within religion that makes us do wrong. At least that's my take... but I think it looks pretty good personally (pride flaring).


Hopefully this will raise some discussion. Although I won't get so hopeful as to think anyone will post comments. I know my readers don't do that!